The park is home to an increasingly shrinking population of the endangered bridled nailtail wallaby. Since 1990, its numbers have fallen from 1000, to less than 500 today.

Previous studies by Fisher show the population has been impacted by climate change, habitat loss through cattle grazing and increased predation by dingoes and feral cats during frequent droughts.

Radio-tracking between 1994 and 1997 showed that dingoes were the major predators of adult bridled nailtail wallabies, while feral cats were hunted juveniles.

As part of a trial to protect the species, between 2006 and 2008 park management stopped baiting dingoes to see whether an increase in the park's dingo population would restrict and reduce feral cat populations.

Predatory patterns

To assess whether this approach was effective, Fisher and Wang used a network of cameras to track movements and overlaps in activity of the two predators for a year from August 2009, when baiting had been reinstituted.

Their results, published recently in Wildlife Research, show that overall feral cats did not avoid areas where dingoes were found.

For the study the researchers placed 41 cameras at 42 different stations to examine space use by dingoes, feral cats, kangaroos and small macropod species.

Wang says the cameras showed dingoes and feral cats active in similar areas and there was no evidence "cats avoided dingoes ... because cats were occasionally detected at cameras the same day as dingoes were detected".

However, it appears in the wet season when dingoes are more active, because they are caring for pups, there was less overlap between the two species.

Wang says the study suggests decisions on whether to control dingo populations through baiting programs needs to be assessed on a "case by case basis".

She says Taunton National Park has areas of dense undergrowth and vegetation so "cats can escape dingoes pretty easily".

This indicates the relationship between the two species is dependant on specific environmental conditions.

Cats taking advantage

This view appears to be supported by another study published in the Journal of Applied Ecology that used cameras to track dingo and cat interactions on nine properties from Cape York across northern and central Australia.

While the researchers ultimately found dingoes could restrict feral cats access to native prey, their work also highlighted the role habitat played in the relationship between the two predators.

Lead author doctoral student Leila Brook at James Cook University's School of Tropical and Marine Biology, says the study both dingo and feral cat numbers were high on some unbaited properties.

She says while the locations were paired to have minimal differences in environment, "if you have a more complex habitat a mesopredator [feral cat] can use that habitat to evade the apex predator".

"Complex habitats enable cats and dingoes to coexist to a higher degree," she says.

The study did not find a direct link between baiting and the number of feral cats, but Brook says that in areas where baiting did reduce dingo numbers, cats were more prevalent and the activity patterns of dingoes changed.

"Dingoes have two activity peaks in the evening and at dawn," she says. "On properties that controlled dingoes we didn't detect that evening peak."

Feral cats took advantage of the dingoes' absence to use the dusk period as their peak hunting time.

"The changes in dingo behaviour could mean improved access to prey for feral cats as they do not have to avoid the dingoes."